The sad story of the most loneliest tree

April 12, 2017

For centuries an acacia tree had stood alone, surrounded by a sea of sand in the Nigerian Sahara. Many generations of travelers and Bedouin caravans rested under its shade and used it as a reference point in their journeys.

This acacia was the only tree within 400 km; it served as a landmark for crossing caravans in the bare landscape and as a testament to life’s durability.

The sad story of its uprooting reminds us that just a single moment of human folly can ruin the wonders of nature.

The Tuareg, a nomadic tribe of the Ténéré region, in south-central Sahara, were the only ones who knew of the tree’s existence until the late 1930s’,when it caught the attention of “foreigners.”

European troops,who camped in the area,spotted the acacia. They named it “The Ténéré tree” and they included it in their military maps.

The French commander of the Allied forces deployed in the region in 1939, Michel Lesour, described the tree as something really special, not only because of its ability to survive in desert conditions, but also because of the countless travelers’ care who had left it untouched through all these centuries.

In the same year, a water well,drilled near the tree, solved the mystery of the tree’s survival in such an arid environment.

Standing at a height of 10 meters, the tree had roots stretching 30 meters into the groundwater table. Its age was estimated at 300 years old and it was assumed to be the last remaining tree of an ancient cluster that had thrived when the region hadn’t been quite so dry.

As it often seems to happen, this living miracle that had survived, against all odds, for centuries, died because of human intervention rather than natural causes. In 1973, a truck driver, following the ancient caravan road, collided with the tree, uprooting it.

A single moment of carelessness was enough to destroy a bond with the past, deeply rooted in desert sand and all the generations of souls who had enjoyed its shadow.

The driver, whose name remains unknown, was said to have been driving drunk.

A short time after that, the skeleton of the holy tree was moved to the Niger National Museum and placed in the mausoleum as a sacred relic: an act from the people of the region that clearly states its importance in their life.
A simple metal sculpture was erected in its place.